Zero Congestion Charge

In a rare piece of good news for motorists, the beginning of 2011 saw a change to the London Congestion Charge that could see some drivers now (legally) avoiding the fee altogether.

The new Greener Vehicle Discount, which replaces the Alternative Fuel Discount, means that more cars will potentially qualify for 100% off the daily charge.

Naturally, there are a couple of caveats that come attached with this generous gesture from Transport for London.

The first is that the vehicle needs to be ‘green’. More precisely, it should be Euro 5 emissions compliant and produce 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre or less.

Secondly, if you already own such an eco-friendly machine, don’t presume that you can just swan about in central London and not worry about the Congestion Charge. To receive the Greener Vehicle Discount, a car must first be registered with Transport for London, and that involves a £10 annual payment.

So, what cars will qualify for the Greener Vehicle Discount? According to the Vehicle Certification Agency, the models that currently meet the criteria are:

Manufacturer Model Specification Transmission Fuel CO2 g/km
Audi A3 1.6 TDI 105PS Stop Start M5 Diesel 99
Citroën DS3 1.6HDi 90hp w/ energy saving tyres M5 Diesel 99
Citroën New C3 1.6HDi 90hp Airdream+ M5 Diesel 99
Fiat 500 / 500C (2010 on) TwinAir M5 Petrol 95
Fiat 500 / 500C (2010 on) TwinAir Dualogic SAT5 Petrol 92
Fiat Punto Evo (Jan 2010 on) 1.3 16v MultiJet 85 ECO M5 Diesel 95
Ford Fiesta (Post 2010¼) 1.6 Duratorq 95PS +DPF ECO M5 Diesel 98
Hyundai i10 1.0l SOHC M5 Petrol 99
Mini Hatchback One D w/ DPF M6 Diesel 99
Mini Hatchback Cooper D w/ DPF M6 Diesel 99
Seat Ibiza ST 1.2 CR TDI 75PS Ecomotive M5 Diesel 92
Seat Leon 1.6 CR TDI 105PS Ecomotive M5 Diesel 99
Skoda New Fabia Hatch 1.2 CR TDI 75PS GreenLine II M5 Diesel 89
Skoda New Fabia Estate 1.2 CR TDI 75PS GreenLine II M5 Diesel 89
Skoda New Fabia Estate 1.2 TDI 3 cylinder 75PS GreenLine M5 Diesel 89
Smart fortwo cabrio (MY 2011) 54 bhp cdi w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Diesel 86
Smart fortwo cabrio (MY 2011) 54 bhp cdi w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Diesel 87
Smart fortwo cabrio (MY 2011) 71 bhp mhd w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Petrol 99
Smart fortwo cabrio (MY 2011) 71 bhp mhd w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Petrol 100
Smart fortwo coupé (MY 2011) 54 bhp cdi w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Diesel 86
Smart fortwo coupé (MY 2011) 54 bhp cdi w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Diesel 87
Smart fortwo coupé (MY 2011) 71 bhp mhd w/ Softip & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Petrol 97
Smart fortwo coupé (MY 2011) 71 bhp mhd w/ Softouch & 15" rear wheels 5 AMT Petrol 98
Toyota iQ (MY 2011) 1.0 VVT-i M5 Petrol 99
Toyota Auris Hybrid (MY 2010) T4 89g 1.8 VVT-i E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 89
Toyota Auris Hybrid (MY 2010) T4 1.8 VVT-i E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 93
Toyota Auris Hybrid (MY 2010) T Spirit 1.8 VVT-i E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 93
Toyota Prius (MY 2009) T4 1.8 VVT-I E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 92
Toyota Prius (MY 2009) T3 1.8VVT-I E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 89
Toyota Prius (MY 2009) T Spirit 1.8 VVT-I E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 92
Toyota Prius (MY 2009) T Spirit w/ Solar Panel 1.8VVT-I E-CVT Petrol Hybrid 89
Volkswagen New Polo 1.2 TDI 75PS BlueMotion M5 Diesel 89
Volkswagen New Golf 1.6 TDI 105PS BlueMotion M5 Diesel 99
Volvo C30 (MY 2011) DRIVe M6 Diesel 99
Volvo C30 (MY 2011) DRIVe M6 Diesel 99
Volvo S40 (MY 2010) DRIVe M6 Diesel 99
Volvo S40 (MY 2011) DRIVe M6 Diesel 99
Volvo V50 (MY 2011) DRIVe M6 Diesel 99
NB: Electric and plug-in hybrid cars aren’t eligible for the Greener Vehicle Discount - they have their own discount scheme.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Transport for London has committed to review the Greener Vehicle Discount in the future, so that eventually only vehicles emitting 80 g/km or less qualify. This tweak will be introduced ‘when the time is right’, but the first reassessment of the discount has been confirmed for 2012.

And finally, the area covered by the Congestion Charge is now much smaller, following the scrapping of the Western Extension zone on 4th January 2011:


Related posts:
Congestion Charge change
London Congestion Charge

Comments

  1. James Hind9 January 2011 at 17:04:00 GMT

    You missed Tesla off the list ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Autoesque9 January 2011 at 23:23:00 GMT

    @ James Hind: Didn't include Tesla or any other of the electric cars because they don't qualify for the Greener Vehicle Discount - there's a different discount scheme that covers them.
    But at nearly £90,000 for the Tesla Roadster, it's an expensive way to avoid the £10 daily Congestion Charge!

    ReplyDelete

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